Towel service apparatus



May 24, 1932. s. A. scHwAR-rz 1,860,206

TOWEL SERVICE APPARATUS I Filed April 28, l1951 -5 Sheets-Sheet 1` 4 s. @mmm May 24, 1932- s. A. SCHWARTZ 1,860,206

TOWEL SERVICE APPARATUS Filed April 28, 1931 SKSheets-Sheet 2 f- /f j ZZ z/ f4 i 6 Z5 j z5 o /7 o i gwownto l S, Suon/a/'z May 24, 1932.l sA.l scHwAR-rz 1,850,206

TOWEL SERVICE APPARATUS.,

Filed April 28, 19:51 SSneets-Sheet 3 me/nto@ A9'. (jf. Sohn/@kfz YPatentes May 24, 1932 Y Ysar/mtr; e. scrrwenrz, or sfr'.V PAUL, MINNESOTA.

Arcares TOWEL sniavcil APPARATUS Application filed April 28, 1.831,A Serial No. 533,526,

, This invention relates-to a towel service apparatus, andit is primarilyV an objectof the inventien t0 provide en apraraidlsY of this kind especially designed and adapted for 5 use in what might `be termed publicwash rooms such as are found inofice buildings,

factories and kindred places. Y

It is also object ofthe'invention to prof vide an apparatus of this kind which is par.-

10 ticularly adapted for use in connection with vwhatis cornmonly known as towel service wherein clean toweling `is delivered from time to time, the `apparatus being so con.- structed as to permit ready and convenient is placement nf, the @145111 bowling Withinv ths.

apparatus for use.` Y U i f VAnother object oftheinvention is to provide ai device of this kind wherein the toweling as delivered-from the laundry'is placed 2s within the apparatus in aV condition whichv might be termed in bulk, together'with-means whereby only a` predetermined amount of clean toweling can be obtained'by theguser as a result of pull upon the toweling.` i'

A Afurther object ofthe .invention is to Provide en apparatus Qf this kind Provided with means for-,holding a supply of clean` toweling preferably. constituting a single web'of desiredlen/gth, together with means sowh'ereby the soiled'toweling is automatically soiled toweling fand, furthermore, wherein means are provided underv the influence. of

the door-for closing`- the cabinet to maintain elses portion' 0ff requisite tension'. upon V`the the toweling.l c,

A still further obj ect of the Vinvention is to provide an apparatus yofl this kindwherein the toweling is in thel characterl ofv a 'webbf desirs@ lsseth and Whsrsin tesslesn, towel# rdrawal by the Auser, said-'tensioning roller 5 and otherwisemore Vconvenient and advanf` 1 betternnderstood, I will now lproceed to del gainst feeding and also/to aloop and wherein the cabinet is furtherv pro-'i ing .iisr adapted to be interm'ittentiy"with,-l

v drawn for use, together witha tension roller' Y mounted within the cabinet for coaction with Y i the webbing to facilitate its proper withautomatically becoming ineffective" or .inoperative upon opening the door to the cabinetfV toeither vapply or removetheltoweling.

,Thel invention consists in the details ofv construction and in the combination and arrangement ofv the .several parts ofmyim-l proved towell service apparatus whereby cera Q v ,i

tain important advantages A"are" attained and the device rendered simpler, less expensive tageous for use, as will he hereinafter more fullysetforth. l i j L y The novel features ofvmy; invention will hereinafter be denitely claimed., i. Y, In order that my invention'may be the panying drawings, wherein Figure l is a view partly infront elevationand partly'inl section illustrating an apparatus Yconstructed in accordance with an lembodiment ofmy invention; I Y, Figure Qis a verticalsectional viewtaken through the device asill'ustrated 'inFigurexv Y scribe thesamey with reference tothe accom!v Figure isfa sectional viewtalen substan-f :tially on theline 3-3 of Figure l ;v

v Figure L is a fragmentary View in side'elef i' vation with portions in section illustrating a. means for normally locking the: itoweling'- Y permitV a measuredfeed of the toweling; i

Figure `5 is Aa fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken substantiallyy on the line l90 Y 4g-ofFigureSg Y Figure Gis a detailed sectional-view taken substantially on-.thep line 6-6 `of Figui-e2 illustrating ameans for holding the tiltingV bottom of the cabinetin its raised ornormal position. i l 1 Asdisclosed in the accompanying draw'- ings,C denotes a cabinet of desired dimenf' Y' sions and; configurations and which,in the A l rrsssef @Mediawet-sf myfievsnss, isfnf a '100511 l at substantially the transverse center;there-- `8'0 a i.

4 type'designed to be suspended upon a wallv f although itis to be understood that the cabinet may be so constructed or designed as to be supported or mounted in any manner which best complies with the requirements of Yprac- Y tice. l

As herein disclosed, the ybottom and V-front i yfaces ofthe cabinet are open, thefront face however being adapted to be closed by a door l herein disclosed as of a hinged type.V vrllie V- `door is adapted tobe heldin itsV closed position by any eective fasteningv means but, as illi'istr'atedin Figure 4, such means as indicated atv l constitutes Va cc'mveiitioii'al hook and-eye.

"At arpredetermined distance'belowL the top i wall Qofthe'ca'binet CV and exten-ding between Y n ina supply of'toweling'll Thistoweling TV thefside walls thereof and from the back )valle isi-a shelf.ofrtableV 5 dividingthe interior ofthe cabinetliiito what may be termed two compartments 'il and" 'VThe upper co'inpartinentis adapted to have placed thereeonstitiites a webof desired length andas del livered from'the laundry is foldedlto provide a-stack or pilel froin which the towelingvfroin vhetopnwill readily iinfoldas piill'or strain is imposed bythe user uponthe towelin'g. 4 Within the Compartment A' at a point in 'close vproximity tofboth the top wall@ vofthe 'cabinet and the'frontfopen face thereof, is

lrotation.

" rotatablyvsiipported by the sidewalls 3 Va feed Yroller dof desired` dimension andfwliieh has its periphery ofia 4character to assure effective ,gripping-* action upon the toweling 'with which itengages.A This peripheraljsurface Vmay constitute covering 7 of emerypaper,` rubber or of, any 'material or combinationv of materials which may assure the desired` gripf ping action. 1 f

The roller dat itsfopposite ends is pro'-` ,vided with. triinnions 8 which are rotatably engaged with the side walls 3 of theicabi'net. C whereby said roller is Vsupported vfor freeY i ,While not at all y be'noted in the present'embodinientof my in-` vention thev moiinti'ngs for the roller dare such'as to vmaintain the/saine normallyfin' working'position and against ready displacement. f-

Pivotally rwalls 3. of ithecabinet Cv at points iii-advance of the applied roller'G and also therebelowY are endwpo'rtions'of Vthe elongated arms 1G.

, Connecting and rotatably supported yby the outer or free end portionsof the armslO is Y tension roller llfor Vcoaction with the roller 7 y 5 hereinbefore referred to when the arms` l0 are in `raisedposition within the Ycabinet C. Y lhe'n the roller ll visin its raised'position,

e' as kparticularly illustrated'in FigiireiQbit servesto maintain in close frictionalcontaet with ithievroll'er, @the toweling leading from thestaclr or pile V1T, said. toweling passing tion i2 belowk the cabinet C.V

times essential yet itis to connected, as at 9, vto Vthe ,sideY 'upwardly and forwardly in contact with the vroller 6 and over the roller. l1. 'The toweling extends downwardly from the roller'll at avv i point closely `adjacent to the open faceoftho cabinet@ and is adapted tovforin a loop por- Y In order toassure theraised ing requisite tension toassure proper and` portion ofwliich, asY at l5, being anehoredto an arm l0 whilethe opposite kor free-end pon, Vtion of the spring le isdireotly, engaged byL Y the door D when closed.'V yThis coaotion of 1 Y the door D with each of the springs liresults in putting e'achgof the springs `luider such ten-V1 sion to assiirethe. most eective coactionof the'roller llwith the rollerf andthe towelingy passing therebetween.

YNhen the door vD` is open the arms 10 tro- Y, gether with the rollerY 11 carried thereby will :effective coactionl with the roller 6,eacliof o* the arms l0 oarriesa leaf spring lil, one end drop downwardly 'so that nojhinderance or' f obstruction will vbe offered to vthe"placement Y 1 of anewor'cleanvstack' of toweling T'iipon the shelf 5 and, furthermore, with the arms" i0/ roller l1 in their downinost position the desired initial placement ofthe clean toweling with respect to the roller 1 1V and i roller@1 is materiallyfaeilitated as' it iso'nly Closed'.

The' downward movement of Vthe roller 1li i Visp'ositively` limited by ContactV of eachv of the arms Vl() with a suitablyv positioned stop 16 extendingV inwardly vfrom the adjacent e side wallA S'of the cabinet. Asis partioularly illustrated in Figure 3, wlienth'e roll-er ll is at theV limitf of 'its vdownward movement it" j yis projected beyondjthefopen `farce of the; eabi.- Y net C, thus preventing the door-D being fully closed.' This is of advantage as it gives positive indication that ajnewfsupplyf of V'clean'tovveling is Vrequired.V f

4The lower portion- Vof thefbottomcoinpart- K finen't B, preferably adjacenttheiback wall 4, f: 1

has *positionedl therein va YsecondV feed roller 1,7. j This roller at each-end is provided with trun'nion' Ylfwhereby vtherollei' may be-ro- :Y tatably supportedr'by the sidewalls 3V A,ofthe cabinet in what might be' termedv a1siib- Y stantially permanent inoiinting.- This frr'illerVY 17 .fisalso provided with a peripheral'siirface y f of eineryrpaper, vrubber or the liletov assure the roller l? having a maximum lof gripping or' frictional. contactgwith the soiledf,v `towel-1r` 'Y Y ing `which passes iipwardlyfover tliefforward l portionthereof as'particularly illustrated vin Y Vilo almenos.

:men-t .A :passesudown .to provide aloofp hereinbe-tere Vfreier-red to, andy .up within-.the

lower. -portien .of theooinpartunent =B .at the fre-ar. .thereof land Vin .Contact with the diene.-

'entrance .groove 21 .open ataiheyfront face .of

the .cabinet .and which `terminates in anV inwardly and rearwardflyfnclined Agaoeve These inclined grooves `22 provicleineans whereby the Weighlt lof the .roller `:oir mandrel 19 together with :the ftoweling wound #there` around. :assures the soiled itoweling having effective frictional Contact with the' peripheral surface of the roller 17.

To assure the maintenance' of the desired loop 12 and more especially .to maintain the preferred spacing of the side stretches of the loop 12, I provide the lower part oi' the bottom compartment B with a bottom panel 23 the forward marginal portion of which Aat each end of the panel being pivotally connectn ed, as at 24, to an adjacent sidewall 3 of the cabinet C, thus providing a mounting whereby the bottom panel 23 may be' swung up into working or closed position or readily dropped or lowered when it isv desired to engage the outer free extremity of new toweling with the roller 17 andthe winding roller or mandrel 19. As particularly illustrated in Figure 2, it is to be noted that the panel 23 is of sucha width that, when in its raised or closed position with respect to the bottom of the cabinet C, the rearV marginal portion of the panel 23 eXtends beyond or rearwardly7 of the vertical center of the roller 17 This is of advantage as it provides further means to assureV an increased area of thel toweling havingfrictional contact with the roller V17 whereby the efficiency of the roller 17 in its operation is increased. Any means may be employed tomaintain the panel 23 in its raised or closed position but, as particularly illustrated in Figure 6, the panel 23' atl one end portion is provided with a conventional spring latch 25 for coaction, with a 'keeper or lug 26 suitably affixed to the adjacent side wall 3 of the cabinet C.

The rollers 6 and 17 are of the same diam-- eter and these rollers 6 and 17 are in driven connection one with the other whereby they rotate in unison in the same general direction. and at the same peripheral speed. This driving connection between the rollers 6 and 17 may be accomplished in any manner which complies with the requirements of practice but, as hereinV disclosed, such connection con- Y stitutes an endless chain 27 passing` varound sprocket wheels 28 suit-ably' carried bythe rollers@ and 17. Rotating with theroller 17 is a stop 29 withv which is. adapted to engage a holding member 30 whereby'the rollers 17 leionet-sucliiroller. It is forti roller L7 ,is also' teizniedfaeheek miler te Cle-f se Cent #heini-Hefter :Claim-wd;- -v

Vand `ntogether with ther toweling .are `)held against amaveliuartil the llolding .member has been released lmoin. the stop. This vholding,4 member Naas 'herein idlSolosed, has Aassociated thereweth a spring member- 3:1 which con- Stairtl-y iunges the' holding member in a pesi .tion .to automatically engage or coact with .the stop '129 sothat, -ifn fthe present embodiment .of the invention, :the roller. 17 .iS only allowed,

to make .a .Smale Hwcliiton 'amici Course the teaveling falloewed te ltravelfafdistance 'in .aceoiidance with the .cifizcuinfe'nential-dimen" greasonwthe' vterinine Ya predetermined, amount of, .clean ,towelirlggrtofbe withdrawn romthe stackv or. pile T. f I]A A pull chain ,3,2 or vother device .is opera- A tively engaged with .thehelding member. 30 se that when it .'-iskdesired .to .use .the .toweling a gperson ,need only-to .operate .such chain `or ,flfindre d l device yto release the hol ding member ,i559 from the .stop -29 whereby the person can .then italie holcl of' the front stretch .off the deep' .cl2 and by imposing pull. thereon may .cause the clean ,toweling tolbe .delivered for Y aise. ,As the-pull iis imposed upon' ,the clean :towgclifng the resi iltant rotation ci the roller c'wil'l ghe transmitted through .thechain 27to `the rel-ler '127 resul-ting in corresponding :amount of .soiled toaveling being wound upon Y the. roller or-inandrel ...19. A

@when .the stack ao-rfpl :T of to'weling ,has

`ibeen used, .upon y.openingegt .the door 'D and l 'the droppinglor loweringoi the panel 23 .the

,roll o fsei'led .towelinglmay be Areadily re anoved iand at z,the V,saine time 1a :stach .or pile T of clean toweling properly Aplaced upon ,the Y shelflr and.saidjtoweling,readilyyquiclrly and .conveniently Sbrought into .proper contact `or,

.coursewith the winding rollergonmandrel .19.

Y 105 -exigagenientwith therellers and `17 .andof 4 itt is believed tobepleaply understood ,that f Ylthe..appanatus asdienendisclosed.isenewhich particulanlymtended .for use .inoonnection I with :towel .service .wherein l)the .cabinet con- .stitutesp-a .substantially permanent fixture in f fthe possessionldf .the.use,r and that clean ,towelingis delivered from timetdtime bythe flaunilleeqr serie@ .mainf ,thoigght to ,baobjlousthat `a .towel service ap- 4by xreason ,oi .theconvenience and. fflifcilityY f 1 .with .which .it'niaybe )assembled andlop- ,j A Y. .2115Y .From f heV Vtoregeingfdescription- ,it Vis. f

erated, and it will .alsofbe yobvious that.y i

invention,is .susceptible Lof lsonejchangefanjd modification; .without .departing from the ,principles ,and V,Spirit .thereot and orthis ,reason l donotpwiehtofbe trLuiderstood aalrniit# l,the precise arrangement. vand i .ieg .firlyselffo i Y formatlon .Qrthe sse-Kerel par s1-leren slime ,in ,carrying ,out ,my invention. practi lex- 1p 'i ,l cabinet, a roll carried by lsaid rock arms for 'iciaimr-if `l. An apparatus of the class described com-y t prising, in combination, a cabinethaving an A open portion, adoor for yclosingsaidopen portion, means yfor supporting'a supply ofclean toweling. within the cabinet; a feed roller rotatably -mounted Within said cabinet and with which the toweling engages, rock arms piv-V oted Vto said cabinetrfor swinging movement about lan axis extending cross wise :of said engagement VVwith the toweling to yhold the samein frictional engagementy with the roller, and means carried by the arms for Contact *with the doorV when the door is closed'to maintain the roller in working position witli'ref spectto the toweling and roller.

` 2. `An apparatus of the class describedcomprising; in combination, `a cabinet having an open portionan'd including side walls, a door rfor closingsaid open-portion7 means for supporting a supplyV of Aclean toweling within the cabinet,fa feed roller-rotatably mounted bottom portion .f and -pivotally connected. ad-

.tween the sidesof said cabinetin saidopen jacent its forward edge to the sides ofthe c abinet for swinging Amovement of its rearportion downwardly below the bottom ofthe cabinet to form a wide gap for the threading oftowel ing through said open bottom rportion to said soiled towel 'take-up means andretaining` means for holding said panel innpwardly swung relation to space the front run of said loop from the rear'runfthereof and'tofcause engagementof the'rear run'of said loopwithr Y said panely as the towelingextends to saidV soiled towel take-upmeans. Y

. Intestimony whereof I aflixmy signature.

:,{sAMUEL A; Vsommiers'` Y within said cabinet and with which the towel- 1 ing engagesfroek arms pivotally connected 'attheirolowerends to said side walls for'projectionof partsithereof outwardly beyond said open portion,ra vroll carried by said parts of said rock arms forv engagement with the toweling to hold the'u same in frictional engageinent with said feed roller, means carried 1 byvthe'arms for Contact with'the door when 'the door is closed to maintain said roll within thecabinet in working position withre'spect i 'to the toweling and roller,V said Yarms and roll -carried thereby dropping out through the -Y open portion of the cabinet when the door is opened. Y Y' Y AAn apparatus of the class described comprising, in combinatioma cabinet having an open portion, a door for closing'said open portion,nieans forvsupporting asupply of clean'towelin'g within the cabinet, a fee-'d fmilerrotatably mounted within'saideabinet o and with'which thetowelingengages, vrock L e armspivoted vto said cabinet for swinging movement about an a-Xisrentending crosswise of .the cabinet', a rollcarried by said .rock

Y arms' forengagernent with/the toweling to hold the same infrictional engagement'with 'j Y Y 'the'roller, 'and-springs' carried by the arms and iwihwhich the door contacts when closedV to malntain" theV Vroll in working y, position with respect to the'toweling and roller.

' prising in combinatioma cabinet hayingan Y Vin "said .Icabinet'a'supply of clean toweling,

feeding means permitting toweling to 'b'e fed `doipvnwardly adjacent the front of the cabinet i portieri, soiledV Atowel take-up'rneansYv in said cabinetrto which the toweling may run Vfrom e Y :jfthe'frearlportion of said 'loop' through/said e tfAn apparatus of the class described c'oni-y Openvbottom pfton means kfor holding with- Y inc" 

